Will Selena's killer be released? Yolanda Saldívar is up for parole 30 years after shooting
Thirty years after Tejano legend Selena Quintanilla-Perez was murdered, her killer is under review for parole.
Yolanda Saldívar, 64, is currently serving a life sentence for the March 1995 murder.
According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records, Saldívar will be eligible for parole on March 30, and she is currently in the parole review process.
Known by fans simply as Selena, Quintanilla-Perez was a beloved Tejano musician turned crossover star. In 1986, she was named female vocalist of the year at the Tejano Music Awards − a title she'd go on to earn 10 more times. She won the Grammy for the best Mexican American album in 1994 and tracks like "Como La Flor" and "I Could Fall In Love" endeared her music to Spanish and English-speaking audiences alike.
Saldívar was the former president of the Selena fan club and a manager of Selena's clothing boutiques.
On March 31, 1995, Saldívar, then 34, fatally shot Selena at a Days Inn Hotel in Corpus Christi after the singer learned that Saldívar had been embezzling money.
The singer was pronounced dead just two weeks before she would have turned 24.
Will Selena's killer get parole?
Saldívar will be eligible for parole for the first time this year. If granted, she would be released to serve the remainder of her sentence in the community under supervision.
If she is denied parole, her next review date will be set for one to five years, from the decision date, a spokesperson for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles told the Times-Caller, part of the Paste BN Network, in an unsigned email. The parole panel would determine the specific number of years.
In Texas, the parole division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice identifies offenders six months before their initial eligibility and notice is sent to both trial officials and victim family members.
During the process, an institutional parole officer will interview the offender to prepare a case summary for the board. A panel of three members, who also have the discretion to interview the offender and individuals who support or protest their release, is then responsible for the final vote.
The parole panel considers the seriousness of the offense, letters of support or protest, the length of the sentence and the amount of time served, as well as criminal history, institutional adjustment and the offender's age.
Parole can be denied for several reasons including if past behavior indicates a predisposition to commit criminal acts, if the offender poses a continuing threat to public safety or indicates a conscious disregard for the lives and safety of others, or if they've refused to participate in or failed to complete programs in prison.
The board traditionally votes on a case just before the parole eligibility date.
In the years since her convictions, Saldívar has challenged the decision several times, according to federal court records.
In 2019, Saldívar filed an appeal challenging her conviction and sentence. According to documents from the denied appeal, a pair of tennis shoes worn by the victim at the time of the murder were not admitted into evidence during Saldívar's trial. Saldívar asserted that if the prosecution had admitted these shoes as evidence, the defense could have potentially discredited the argument that Saldívar shot Quintanilla-Perez intentionally.
Saldívar's appeals have not been successful.